Residents of the USA continue to see approximately one mass shooting a day. I just read an article about the 1968 student uprising here in Paris.
While much is said about violence and white privilege in America, little beyond talking ever really takes place. In the spirit of non-action, here are a few more words.
My retired firefighter paramedic brother commented the other day that victims of mass shootings often display terrible wounds that we used to see only in war. In just a few minutes and even with police able to respond very quickly to the scene, dozens of people can be killed and many more left wounded.
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
So reads the second ammendment to the US Constitution.
Stress "a well regulated militia", shall we?
What best describes those who have died at the hands of war-ready gun wielding murderers? Brave Martyrs to the defense of the second amendment, or just collateral damage in the on-going war in America?
A strange juxtaposition for me comes from something I just read.
During the student uprisings here in Paris in 1968, the ecole des beaux arts printer rooms were taken over by students and put to the task of turning out posters.
At one point the State directed the police to shut down the school's printing presses. When the police entered the building students had taken priceless works of art off the walls of the school and were holding them as shields to protect the machinery against the power of the State.
When the police were confronted with a choice to first destroy art to then destroy the presses or to turn around and leave, they chose the latter and never returned.
It's really difficult to describe the vast differences between the two societies. In general, the US feels to me neanderthal-brutish, thuggish, and pig-headed in the way people and elected "leaders" go about things. The French, on the other hand, while being at times no less violent, make different choices that lead (from an American point of view) to unexpected outcomes.
It's like how a Frenchman explained to me that even the rich deserved single payer state sponsored healthcare. Everyone pays into the system and everyone gets to benefit from it.
Or how the French remember those who were murdered during the Nazi occupation of Paris. There are plaques around the city commemorating these people and on a regular basis flowers are put in a special ring affixed to each plaque.
I could go on with more examples, but I think I'll leave it as is for the moment.
